Galicia Garcia David 12324190

Brains structure
Introduction Brain Machine Interface (BMI) technology provides a direct electronic interface and can convey messages and commands directly from the human brain to a computer. BMI technology involves monitoring conscious brain electrical activity via electroencephalogram signals and detecting characteristics of electroencephalogram patterns via digital signal processing algorithms that the user generates to communicate. It has the potential to enable the physically disabled to perform many activities, thus improving their quality of life and productivity, allowing them more independence and reducing social costs. The challenge with BMI, however, is to extract the relevant patterns from the electroencephalogram signals produced by the brain each second. Recently, there has been a great progress in the development of novel paradigms for electroencephalogram signal recording, advanced methods for processing them, new applications for BMI systems and complete software and hardware packages used for BMI applications. One of the most convenient characteristic of this technology is that human- computer interfaces can use different signals from the body to control the devices. For example: the muscle activity, eye movements, and respiration. This is very important for people with physical disabilities. 1) Implementation of a new technology using the BMI Until now, the most remarkable develop using the BMI, is in the medical field. This is because the field of BMI research and development has focused primarily on applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing, repairing damaged sight and providing new functionality for people with paralysis. There are other applications in the videogames field, where we can control the moves of our videogame character.

Figure 1. Prototype of a hybrid car using BMI

My idea is to implement the BMI in the automotive field. About 20 years ago, the electronic devices have a lot and significant changes; and more recently, the scientists also started to use the technology advances to improve the cars, as one example we have the hybrid cars. Now, I think about combine the use of BMI, with ecological cars, to create a car that have a good impact with the environment, and also, easy to drive with for persons with a physical disabilities. In the beginning, this idea has as objective to help persons with a physical disability, but in the future, also can be use for everyone, not necessary only persons with disabilities. The idea is to make everyone able to drive, only using the brain. To send the brains information to control the cars movements is necessary to use an electrode cap, as the figure shows. The

Figure 2. Electrode cap

 Galicia Garcia David 12324190

showed electrode caps are the real caps used in medical treatments. Is necessary to make adaptations to use it for the new propose. Others applications of the BMI is to help paralyzed people to control them limbs; others helps blind person to transmit visual images to the mind; others transmit auditory data to the mind of a deaf person; and this idea, wants to help persons with problems in the lower extremities. 2) What problems should be solved about the BMI? There are plenty problems related to the use of the BMI. The principal problem, I think, is that the research is still in beginning stages; there is necessary to fix and improve a lot of things to have an efficient technology. As many other technologies, in the beginning, there are details omitted, that obstacles the correct performance of the technology. Right now, is the beginning of BMI, so is the period when the scientists have to find those omitted details and try to fix it, looking for the improvement of BMI. The other big problem is about the ethical issues. There are some persons against the idea of use technology to improve the physical body; this idea is common in people of ancient times. Here is when we find the term of human enhancement. Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means. But human enhancement is increasingly becoming synonymous with transhumanism, a controversial ideology and movement which has emerged to support the recognition and protection of the right of citizens to either maintain or modify their own minds and bodies; so as to guarantee them the freedom of choice and informed consent of using human enhancement technologies on themselves and their children. Many critics argue that "human enhancement" is a loaded term which has eugenic overtones because it may imply the improvement of human hereditary traits to attain a universally accepted norm of biological fitness, and therefore can evoke negative reactions far beyond the specific meaning of the term. There are many others problems using the BMI, like there is a need of extensive training before user cause techniques like electroencephalogram. As result, this method isnt fast, requires time to use it in a proper way. Then the BMI techniques still require much enhancement before they can be used by users as they are slow. Also BMI techniques are costly; it requires lot of money to set up BMI environment. This is other big problem, because not everybody can have accesses to the BMI, only the persons with a very good wage can use it. I think this problem will persist in the following years, because this is a specific technology, it means that there arent massive productions of this machines, there are only a few. Therefore, is too difficult to reduce the price. As in all the new technologies, there are people who agree and disagree with it. I think that all the things created by humans have imperfections, so we have to learn how to endure those imperfections, and obtain the greatest benefit of the new technologies.